Saturday, May 16, 2015

Descender #3 - A Review

Robotic youth companion TIM-21 has been left badly damaged by the attacks of the scrapper team that detected his illegal reactivation. Fortunately a United Galactic Council science team, including his creator Doctor Quon, is on their way to save him. But what will they make of the revelation that the robot boy has begun to dream dark visions of the deadly Harvester robots that lay waste to the UGC home worlds, when everyone knows that androids do not dream - of electric sheep or otherwise?

I commented before that Jeff Lemire's story for Descender borrowed heavily from a number of classic science-fiction stories and tropes. This issue brings forth a twist that owes a clear debt to the works of Philip K. Dick. Despite the homage being apparent, the tale Lemire tells here is wholly original while seeming wonderfully familiar.

Dustin Nguyen's artwork is as original and compelling as Lemire's story. Nguyen's aesthetic is oddly minimalist and sketchy while simultaneously possessing subtle detailing.The final product is a perfect fusion of art and writing and I would highly recommend this series to anyone who is not already reading it.